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December 07, 2012

Jim Letten, New Orleans U.S. Attorney, Resigns - NYTimes.com

A United States attorney known for taking on corruption is resigning amid revelations that senior prosecutors in his office had been anonymously commenting online about active cases.

In a brief but passionate statement, Mr. Letten, the longest-serving United States attorney in the nation and a popular crusader against the crooked traditions of Louisiana public servants, announced that he would be resigning effective next Tuesday.

He said it was his decision and gave few other details, but everyone knew why this was happening. Beginning last spring, a series of legal motions had revealed that Mr. Letten’s senior prosecutors had been making provocative, even pugnacious comments about active criminal matters and other subjects under aliases at nola.com, the Web site of The Times-Picayune newspaper.